Salt Flats – Central salt flats

Photos taken between 12:00pm and 2:00pm on December 1, 2010.
Weather was overcast with occasional sunlight.

Notes from interview with tour guide at Salt Flats included below photos, as well as audio of Mike (my business partner) interviewing the tour guide.

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Notes:

Last time we went out about two miles into the salt flats. Today, the entrance to the area was not passable due to mud and soft salt so we hired a local guide to take us on an alternate route in his four wheel drive vehicle.

Much of the area was muddy and there were random ponds and large areas of standing water. We headed out into the widest area of the salt flats and found some relatively dry areas. The guide said that it has been an unusually wet year and about 30 degrees colder than normal.

The salt was more grey than white, which is typical from this time of year. Our guide said that the salt wont look very white again until spring.

We found a dry area on the speedway where the ground was firmer because of the cold. We took some pictures standing on the marker where they start the races. This area would work for driving shots but only if the conditions were similar to today.

Our guide said that the weather on the salt flats is extremely variable and hard to predict. If the weather remains dry for the next three weeks, the conditions would probably be pretty decent for driving shots. If any storms move in, the whole speedway could be under three inches of water and salty mud. When asked what the chances of finding 5 miles of nice looking, firm, and flat driving area would be during the third week of December, he answered, “Less than 50%”.